The effect of an executive MBA program on entrepreneurial orientation .

Entrepreneurship has been given increasing credit for the recent global economic expansion. Many business schools have attempted to expand their MBA programs to offer entrepreneurial courses. However, academics argue that the MBA program with its analytical focus may very well reduce the entrepreneurial orientation of participants. This research attempts to answer the research question, does an MBA education enhance or decrease a participant's entrepreneurial orientation. The framework for this research is Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. Three entrepreneur-related attitudinal constructs, innovation, risk taking, and proactiveness are operationalized from eight survey items to derive the second level latent construct, entrepreneurial orientation. This research model is derived from an earlier study by Kreiser and Moreno (2002). The research survey was sent to a population of 353 participants of an executive MBA program administered by the University of Hawaii in Vietnam. 73 participants responded to the survey. The null hypotheses that there is no significant difference in entrepreneurial orientation between those participants who had completed the MBA program and those who had not could not be rejected. The implication of these findings for researchers is that an MBA program has little or no effect on entrepreneurial orientation. The implication for educators the traditional MBA program curriculum does not support nor does it detract from the engenderment of an entrepreneurial orientation in the minds of graduating students.